REDUCTION UNLIKELY

Ashburton Guardian, Volume 53, Issue 271, 28 August 1933, Page 8

REDUCTION UNLIKELY

THE BURDEN OF TAXATION. PROSPECTS FOR THE SESSION. .'Special to the "Guardian.") WELLINGTON, August 26. Recent sessions of Parliament have been viewed with trepidation by the taxpayer, who always feared that further burdens would be imposed on the narrowing circle of those who still enjoyed taxable resources which could be tapped. The coming session presents a less alarming prospect, for the concern of the Government will now be to discover "safe means of reducing the taxation burden. On present indications, there appears no clear way to concessions in respect to ordinary taxation, lor the reason that the pegged exchange liability is mot closely predictable. The more the credits pile up, the greater the interest bill on the money borrowed to acquire them at the high rate. » . But for the record number of registered unemployed, there would by this time have been Ministerial hints of the possibility of reducing the emergency unemployment charge of Is in the £ on salaries, wages and other income. It is well understood that the Government would like to make some concession ini this respect, but is being deterred by the increasing obligations. If general industry revives in line with the steady improvement in prices of exported commodities, a reduction in the unemployment tax may be expected, because the fund is showing very satisfactory signs of elasticity, the income for the first three months of this financial year showing an improvement oyer the corresponding period of 1932, amounting to £365,359, despite a much heavier expenditure.

Unemployment Fund Income. Full details; of the income and expenditure of the Unemployment Fund are available, and the latest figures cover the period of three months to June 30. First come the details of resources distinct from the current income for that period, viz.: £ Cash balance at beginning of year ./. ••■• 323,148 Imprests outstanding 1,277 Securities held ' 100,000 Total £424,426 The above total compares very favourably with the corresponding "reserve" resources of the fund at the same point in 1932, when the total was £184,966. The most impressive feature of the accounts is the strength of the current income for the three months, tho details being as follow: £ Unemployment levy 147,029 Emergency unemployment charge 1,157,000 Fines • 8% Interest on investments 877 Repayment of loans 2,955 Total ...£1,307,904 The quarter's receipts in 1932 amounted to £942,545, or £365,3-59 less than those for the recent quarter. The most notable increase has been in the Emergency unemployment i charge, receipts from which improved by £323,671 in three months, due to the increase from 3d in 'the £ to Is in the £. a change which did not operate until after the first quarter of 19.32. Unemployment Expenditure. While the income figures for the quarter show that a great enlargement, the increase in expenditure is even more striking, for it was over half a million more last quarter than in the corresponding period of 1932. The expenditure for three months ended June 30 is. given below with that of the* first quarter of 1932 in parentheses: £ Unemployment expenses (£2,021) 3,037 Grant (£135,106) 612,057 Loans (£3,106) 3,817 Food, clothing, etc (nil) . . 29,346 Sustenance payments (nil) . . 6,281 Total (£140,234) ..... £654,575 . The cash resources at the end of the quarter, though substantial, did not disclose the same extent of increase as the expenditure. At June 30, 1932, the Unemployment Fund was in default to the extent of £987.277 while at the end of June last, its reserves were as follow. Cash in hand £788,924, imprests outstanding £188,829, securities invested £100,000; total £1,077,754.